


Just Because

by Trelhu



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Alex loves his sister, Anxiety, Brother-Sister Relationships, Character Death, Death, Depression, Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Loss of loved ones, Nothing explicit, Protective Siblings, Reggie loves OFC, Siblings, Twin sister, adoptive siblings basically, please read all THE TAGS
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:54:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26589937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trelhu/pseuds/Trelhu
Summary: Arietta and Alex were the closest twins they knew. Arietta supported her brother when he came out as gay, and he supported her when she told him about her anxiety. Arietta was close with Alex's bandmates, Luke and Reggie especially, she always got a weird vibe around Bobby, but she put up with him for her brother's sake. Arietta liked playing with her brother's band, "Sunset Curve" but Bobby always tried to insist that it was a "No-Girls-Allowed Band" and that she couldn't hang out with them when they practiced.When Alex, Luke, and Reggie died the night before Sunset Curve was supposed to play at the Orpheum, Arietta sank into a deep depression. She barely ate for a month, refused to leave her room, and hardly spoke. Even Bobby tried to talk to her, but she shut him out like everyone else. Arietta developed an eating disorder and no one noticed. Her brother would have, even Luke and Reggie would have commented on how thin she was getting, but they were gone. And soon, Arietta was too.
Relationships: Alex/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Julie Molina/Luke Patterson, Reggie/OFC
Comments: 14
Kudos: 140





	1. It's Not What You've Lost

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Julie and the Phantoms!!!
> 
> Warnings! Eating disorder, depression, anxiety, death, loss of loved ones, mentioned sexual assault, and grief. Just a heads up, if you think of any others I should add, please comment with them! I'm sure I'm not getting them all and I'd really like to. Please read all the tags.

Arietta and Alex were the closest twins they knew. Arietta supported her brother when he came out as gay, and he supported her when she told him about her anxiety. Arietta was close with Alex's bandmates, Luke and Reggie especially, she always got a weird vibe around Bobby, but she put up with him for her brother's sake. Arietta liked playing with her brother's band, "Sunset Curve" but Bobby always tried to insist that it was a "No-Girls-Allowed Band" and that she couldn't hang out with them when they practiced.

When Alex, Luke, and Reggie died the night before Sunset Curve was supposed to play at the Orpheum, Arietta sank into a deep depression. She barely ate for a month, refused to leave her room, and hardly spoke. Even Bobby tried to talk to her, but she shut him out like everyone else. Arietta developed an eating disorder and no one noticed. Her brother would have, even Luke and Reggie would have commented on how thin she was getting, but they were gone. And soon, Arietta was too.

It wasn't actually her fault. She got hit by a drunk driver when she was walking home one night. Arietta was dead before the ambulance arrived.

Slowly, Arietta opened her eyes. She was in a small, dark room. Huddled in the opposite corner were three figures. Figures Arietta recognized. Slowly, one of them stood up and walked over to lean over Arietta, who was lying curled on the uncomfortable ground, but couldn't find the strength to get up.

"Ari?" Reggie's voice echoed through the empty room "What...What are you doing here?"

"Ari?" Alex asked, looking up from his knees where his head had been buried.

Arietta closed her eyes "No. This isn't real, you're dead. This is a dream. A cruel dream."

"Ari, please, it's us." Alex begged.

He rushed over and cupped her face in his hands, but Arietta weakly tried to pull away. Alex drew back, hurt that his twin didn't believe they were really there.

Luke seemed to be the only one who registered what she had said "Wait, Ari, you said we were dead? How are you here then?"

"I'm dead. If this is some sick, twisted trick of the afterlife, showing me my dead brother and friends when they have to be in a better place..." Arietta broke off into a sob "They have to be."

"Arietta..." Reggie finally took in her bony appearance, the way her clothes hung off her frame, and the gauntness of her cheeks "Alex." He pulled his friend back.

"What?!" Alex cried "What is it?"

"Look." Reggie pointed at Arietta's body, she had curled up into a tight ball, clutching at her arms like lifelines "Alex, I think we've been dead for a lot longer than we thought."

"How can you tell?" Alex's eyes filled with tears.

Reggie tugged Alex and Luke to the corner they'd been in "Look at her." He whispered "She's skin and bone. She may not have weighed much when we died, but now she's practically a skeleton. It's been a while."

Alex studied his friend's worried face for a moment then turned back and hurried to his sister "Ari, please, I need you to tell me everything that's happened since we died."

Ari sniffled and blinked back tears "You died. You died and I lost you. Why am I talking to you? You're not my Alex. You're a figment of my imagination."

"Ari, I'm real. I swear." Alex whispered "Talk to me. What happened to you?"

"Drunk driver." Arietta whispered "I was outside the Orpheum and he hit me. I don't remember anything after that until I woke up here."

"How long since we died?" Luke asked.

"A year." Arietta choked back a sob "It's been a year."

Luke and Reggie shared a stunned look that, under normal circumstances, would have made Arietta giggle. But she just whimpered and turned her head away.

"Get some rest, Ari." Alex whispered "Please? For me?"

Arietta glanced at her brother's heartbroken face. She could never say no to those puppy dog eyes. With a sigh she nodded and closed her eyes.

Alex sat next to her, holding her hand, until her chest rose and fell gently and her breaths evened as sleep overtook her. He looked up at his bandmates.

"I should have been there." He whispered, starting to cry again "We should have been there."

"Alex, there was nothing we could have done." Luke tried to soothe "We were...we died. We couldn't do anything about it."

Alex started to blubber "She's my sister. I should have been there. I'm a horrible brother."

Luke and Reggie each took his hands.

"If you're a terrible brother, then so are we. We all considered Arietta a sister. We all failed her." Luke bit his lip "But we couldn't have done anything."

Ari suddenly started to shift in her sleep, tears were squeezed from her closed eyes as she whimpered "No, please. Stay away."

Luke, Reggie, and Alex all heard those words and felt an icy chill explode in their hearts. What had happened to the happy, loving girl Arietta had been?

Alex was the first to move. He pulled his hands away and raced to his sister's side, she was shaking, whether with cold or sobs Alex didn't know.

"Ari, wake up." Ari didn't stir "Ari! Arietta!" She woke up as he called her name the third time.

She looked around frantically, sitting up straight like she had a rod taped to her back, her eyes were bright and searching.

"You're safe, Ari." Luke whispered, reaching out for her "It's okay."

"It-It wasn't a dream?" Ari whispered, pulling back "You're here? With me?"

"Yeah, we're here." Reggie knelt down next to her "We're never leaving you again."

"Ari," Alex paused "What happened? To you?"

Ari avoided his gaze "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on, Ari!" Alex exclaimed "That kind of excuse might work on Mom and Dad, but I know when you're lying. Now tell me, what happened?"

Ari sighed "It was about two months after you died. I went out to get groceries, Mom and Dad were arguing and I needed to get out of the house. I don't know how it happened."

"How what happened?" Alex tried to take her hand but she pulled back "Ari? What happened?"

"I-I can't say it." Arietta choked "Please don't make me say it."

"Alex, maybe we should..." Reggie tried to say.

"No!" Alex stopped his friend "Please, Ari, I can't help you if you don't talk to me. Tell me."

"No one can help me." Ari whispered as tears started to fall down both the twin's faces "I'm beyond help."

Alex glanced at his friends when a possibility hit him and the color drained from his face "Ari...Were you...? Did someone hurt you?"

Arietta's breath hitched and she started to cry in earnest.

Alex saw red "Who?"

"Alex." Reggie tried to calm his usually zen friend, though he was feeling the rage course through his veins too.

"No, Reggie." Luke was the one who spoke up this time "Who, Ari?"

Arietta gulped and stammered "I-I don't know. I didn't tell anyone. He just left me there."

"Ari, why wouldn't you say something?" Luke looked close to tears "It wasn't your fault."

Arietta bit her lip and shook her head. Alex took a slow, shuddering breath and reached out for his sister's hands. But again she pulled back and started fidgeting with her fingers, staring down into her lap.

"Ari, please...I'm so sorry I wasn't there. I should have protected you." Alex whispered "Please look at me."

He reached out and gently lifted his sister's chin up, but Arietta kept her eyes downcast. Alex looked desperately to his friends for help, why he wasn't sure. Luke was terrible with crying and being an only child had no experience comforting a sibling, and Reggie just stood there looking shellshocked.

Finally, Luke stepped forward and moved to wrap Arietta in a hug. She tensed but Luke just softened his arms around her. Alex got the idea and joined the hug, beckoning Reggie to wrap his arms around the girl as well. They stayed like that for a long time, until Arietta's breathing slowed and her eyelids fluttered shut.

"Alex, are you okay?" Luke asked after they had laid Arietta in the corner to let her get some rest, Reggie was sitting with her now, holding her hand tightly.

Alex raised a tear soaked face to his friend "No." He swallowed thickly "What makes it worse is she lied."

"What?"

"She knows who it was."

"Alex, don't do anything you might regret." Luke tried to stay calm but he was tempted to wake Arietta up and ask her himself.

"Luke, she's my sister and I wasn't able to protect her." Alex said shakily "If I can get her to tell me who, I can, I don't know, haunt them or something!"

"How are you gonna do that?" Reggie asked curiously from the corner "We're stuck in this room."

"I'll figure it out!"

"Alex, I know you feel terrible." Luke tried to talk some sense into his friend "But we're stuck here. I don't know why or how Ari got here, but we need to be there for her right now. We can worry about taking care of whoever did it later."

"You don't understand." Alex mumbled.

"Don't I?" Luke asked "You know, we thought of Ari like a sister too. We feel awful too."

"What are you gonna do, Alex?" Reggie whispered "What can we do?"

"I-I don't know yet." Alex took a deep breath "But I'll figure something out."

"You will." Luke nodded "And when you do, we'll be right beside you. But for now, we need to focus on Ari. She needs our help."

Alex looked over at his sister's sleeping form. She was holding Reggie's hand, but her face was creased with worry lines that hadn't been there when they died, even in her sleep. She'd been through so much that he didn't know how to help her with. But Alex knew his friends were right. One thing he knew, was he was never going to leave his sister again.

***

Ari didn't sleep for long, she woke up to find Reggie dozing, leaning against the wall next to her, and Luke and Alex were whispering in the corner. Slowly, she sat up and took a shaky breath.

Alex heard her and turned to find her awake "Ari, go ahead, go back to sleep." He tried to tell her.

Arietta shook her head, trembling like a leaf. 

Alex sighed and knelt down next to her "Ari, you're literally dead on your feet. Get some more sleep."

"I thought..." Ari hiccuped "I thought once I died, there wouldn't be any more dreams."

Arietta had always been a dreamer, seeing her fear the monsters in her mind made Alex start to cry again "Ari, I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault, Alex." Arietta forced a small smile "It's mine."

"No!" Luke shouted, waking Reggie from his position resting against the wall "It's not your fault at all! Ari, never say that again."

Arietta looked down at her hands, twisting in her lap. Reggie noticed and reached out, gently holding her hand in his. Then the floor fell out from beneath them. They screamed as they fell, Arietta held onto Reggie's hand for dear, well, not life, death? They landed with a thud on the floor of their old studio, the boys got landed flat on their back, but Arietta tried to land on her feet, a mistake as her knees gave out beneath her and she stumbled, grabbing onto a small table in front of her for support.

"Whoa!" Luke gasped, realizing where they were "How did we get back here?"

A girl's scream tore through the air. They all quickly noticed that in front of them stood a short, dark skinned girl with curly hair. Sunset Curve and Arietta started to scream too. Reggie grabbed Arietta and pulled her away from the screaming girl, Luke shoved Alex in front of them and hid behind the blond drummer. Alex dove behind Luke and they chase each other in a circle for a moment, before Reggie grabbed them both and pulled them in front of himself and Arietta. The girl made a mad dash for the door, running at breakneck speed away from the four dead kids.

"What just happened?" Reggie whispered.


	2. It's What You Gained

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Julie and the Phantoms!!! Again, if you think of a warning or tag I should add PLEASE let me know immediately! I want to give fair warnings about this fic.

"What just happened?" Reggie whispered.

"I have no idea." Alex sighed.

He reached out and took his sister's free hand, holding her close as if he could protect her better if he held onto her. When Alex looked down at her thin face, he noticed how pale she looked. He knew they were all ghosts, but she was the only one who looked really dead. Her cheeks were sunken and her eyes had a haunted, shattered look to them. Luke and Reggie decided to give the twins some space.

"Ari?" Alex's voice jolted Arietta out of a sort of trance and she looked up at him "Are you okay?"

"Alex?" Her voice was soft "Why are we back here?"

"That, is an excellent question."

Arietta didn't exactly want to be back in the studio. She hadn't sung since her brother's death, her parents had basically forbidden music in the house, saying it was too painful to hear their daughter's voice. Arietta had tried to sing outside of her home, but ever since the incident when she went for groceries, her inner music seemed to have died. As her mind sunk deeper into the darkness of her memories, Alex pulled her close in a tight hug.

"It's gonna be okay, Ari. I promise." He murmured in her ear "I won't leave you again."

"Uh, guys, I hate to ruin a lovey sibling moment, but that girl is coming back." Reggie warned, he was standing on his tip-toes, peering out the window "And she's got a cross. Does she think we're demons?"

The four ghosts quickly hid in various random places around the room. Luke had to duck out of his hiding place and pull Reggie away from the window, Alex kept Arietta close to him. The girl walked into the studio, the cross held out in front of her like a weapon. Reggie almost snickered at her large slippers, but Luke clapped a hand over his mouth to silence him.

The girl approached the middle of the room "Are you still here...whatever you are?" She lowered the cross "I know I saw something. I'm not crazy."

Luke pulled Reggie, Alex, and Arietta from their hiding places to stand behind the girl "Well, we're all a little crazy."

The girl thrust the cross forward and screamed again. Ari failed to hide her flinch and Alex noticed.

"Oh my God! Please stop screaming!" He shouted.

The girl actually did as he asked but kept the cross pointed at them "Who are you, and what are you doing in my Mom's studio?"

Luke moved forward "Your Mom's studio? This is our studio. Trust me, my..." He slid across the piano that hadn't been there before "The grand piano is new, and...and...and...my couch!" He giggled like a little kid and leapt on the sofa.

Arietta looked around for the first time, taking a good look at the room. Hanging from the ceiling were a few chairs, and the table she'd caught herself on when she'd first landed was different from the one the band had. Finally, her eyes landed on the guitar hanging where Luke's six-string usually was, but it was not a six-string at all. 

Luke's gaze followed Ari's "But that is definitely not my six-string." He looked up "Can you give me just one second? Just...give me one second. Thank you."

He climbed off the couch and over to where Alex, Reggie, and Arietta stood.

"Guys, what is going on? How did she get her stuff in here so fast?" Luke hissed.

"Maybe..." Reggie's face lit up excitedly "Maybe she's a witch. There's chairs floating on the ceiling."

"Okay, there is no such thing as witches." Alex pointed out.

"You sure? 'Cause I used to think there was no such thing as ghosts." Reggie argued.

"That's fair." Alex shrugged.

"Okay, so we're going with witch?" Luke asked skeptically.

"No, we're not." Arietta found herself being the voice of reason, just like the old days "Witches aren't real."

"Yeah, no! We are not going with witch." Alex backed his sister up "She's not a witch. Okay, look. She's just scared. Okay? Let someone with a softer touch handle this."

Ari almost laughed for the first time since her brother had died.

Alex cautiously approached the girl, his sister staying a step behind him "Why are you in our studio?" He asked loudly and clearly.

Arietta smacked his shoulder. She was about to say something, but the girl shoved the cross right through Alex's chest, stopping centimeters from her own. Arietta stumbled back and was promptly caught by Reggie.

The girl pulled the cross out of Alex's chest "Oh my gosh! How did you do that?"

"Clearly, you're not understanding...she doesn't get it. Okay, look. We're ghosts, all right?" Alex held his hands out "We're just four ghosts, and we're really happy to be home. So thank you for the flowers. They really brighten up the room."

Luke helped Reggie lift Arietta back to her feet and stepped forward "We're actually in a band called Sunset Curve."

"Tell your friends." Reggie piped.

"Last night was supposed to be a really big night for us." Luke explained "Well, it was last night for us, for Ari it was a year ago. It was gonna change our lives."

Alex leaned in "I'm, uh...pretty sure it did."

"This is freaking me out." The girl backed up and pulled out a small box, then on second thought, held the cross back up.

"What is that?" Luke asked.

"It's my phone." The girl paused "No! Stop talking to them. They aren't real. There's no such thing as cute ghosts."

"Oh, think we're cute?" Reggie smirked.

Ari smacked his shoulder gently "I'm sorry about him."

The girl shrieked again "And there's a girl ghost too! How many of you are there?"

The girl started frantically tapping keys and Alex leaned forward "Who you calling?"

"I'm googling Sunset Swerve." The girl said like it explained everything.

"Sunset Curve!" The boys corrected her all at once.

"Googling?" Ari asked.

The girl ignored them and looked down at her phone "Whoa. There is a Sunset Curve. You did die. But not last night."

"I told you, it's been a year." Ari muttered.

"It's been twenty five years." The girl corrected.

"What? No. No, no, no. Th-th-that's impossible." Reggie stammered "After we floated out of the ambulance, all we did was go to that weird dark room where Alex cried, then Ari showed up and he cried more."

"Well..." Alex's voice had gone up several octaves "I don't think...I think we were all pretty upset. Okay."

"But that was just for like an hour." Luke frowned "We just showed up here."

The girl held out her phone "Look. I'm just telling you what my phone says. See? You died in 1995 and 1996. When you were 17 and 18. It's now 2020"

There were two articles pulled up. One on the death of the boys, one on the passing of Arietta.

Reggie's eyes got huge "So, this is the future?"

Ari rolled her eyes and turned her attention to her brother who was freaking out "Wait. So...so, it has been 25 years. I have been crying for 25 years? How is that possible?"

"Well, you're a very emotional person." Reggie pointed out.

"I am NOT!" Alex gasped, offended.

A small boy walked into the studio "Thought you were afraid to come out here. You talking to your ghost friend? How does he look? Is he hideous?"

"He can see you." Alex teased Reggie.

"No, he can't." The girl glared at them.

"What?" The kid asked, looking around blankly.

"Uh...what do you want?" The girl asked sharply.

"A normal sister, for starters." The kid joked "Stop being weird and come eat."

As soon as the kid was out of earshot, the girl looked back at the four ghosts "He couldn't see you."

"Well, we are dead." Arietta sighed.

"Yeah." Alex nodded "I mean, that's...usually how ghosts work."

"Hmm." Reggie hummed in agreement.

The girl sighed and walked towards the door but turned around before she left "Look, I am very sorry for what happened to you guys, but this isn't your studio anymore. You have to leave."

Luke tried to stop her "But, wait. We...we didn't get your name."

The girl paused and turned back to face them "It's Julie."

"Cool." Luke chuckled "I-I'm Luke," He moved forward to try and shake Julie's hand but she lifted the cross again "By...by the way. And this is--"

"Reggie. I'm Reggie." Reggie waved "Hey."

"And..." Luke pushed Alex and Arietta forward.

"Alex. How's it going?" Alex greeted awkwardly.

"Arietta, but you can call me Ari if you want." Ari shrugged.

"Ba-da!" Luke sang softly.

"Okay?" Julie brought the cross back down and left.

"Julie seems nice." Reggie smiled.

Alex groaned "Did you miss the part where she kicked us out, or...?" Reggie's face was comically confused "Yeah, okay."

The four ghosts started looking around, reacquainting themselves with the studio. Soon though, the boys got bored.

"Let's go find Julie." Reggie suggested "I bet she's in the house outside."

"Yeah, yeah." Luke agreed "Let's go."

"Guys, I don't think..." Ari tried to stop them, but they were already out the door.

She chased after them, and found them standing outside the door to the house.

"Who's going in first?" Luke asked nervously.

"I will." Alex volunteered.

He stuck his head through the door and the rest of his body followed. The other two boys shrugged and walked straight through, Reggie technically fell through. Arietta rolled her eyes and walked through the door too.

"You've got to rip that band-aid off and get the pain over with." A woman in a flowery dress was telling Julie and two men who sat at the table with her.

One was clearly her dad, since the other was the brother who had come into the studio. The three boys looked around, noticed Julie, and started walking towards her. She yelled in surprise making the boys freeze.

Realizing how weird that had sounded, Julie quickly chuckled awkwardly "That's me. Ripping off the band-aid. Aah." 

Her brother laughed weakly.

The woman took Julie's chin in her hand "There's my brave girl."

Luke leaned down in front of Julie, between her and her Dad "Hey, Julie, I really like what you guys did with the place."

"You shouldn't be here." Julie whispered.

The older woman gasped "Oh, I'm just here to help, mija."

"Oh...I think that's our cue to leave." Alex whispered as Julie shot them a glare.

"I mean, you should be at Pilates." Julie tried to explain herself "Thanks for bringing us food."

Reggie started pushing the ghosts towards the door "We should have called first."

"It's nothing." The woman hugged Julie "And now that you're no longer in the music program, you can concentrate on classes that matter."

The ghosts quickly left before this got any more personal and awkward. Ari led them back to the studio. They started poking around again and Alex and Arietta found Alex's old drum set, Luke's guitar, and Reggie's bass. The boys figured that, since they were dead, no one would hear them if they started to jam. 

"Come on, Ari, fill in for us. Please?" Reggie begged "We need someone to sing backup and play Bobby's part."

Arietta shivered "I haven't played for 25 years. I don't think I'll be much good."

"But you were only dead 24 years, I thought?" Luke said confused.

Arietta sighed "Our parents basically banned music from the house after Alex died. They said it only reminded them of him."

"So, you weren't allowed to even listen to music?" Reggie asked carefully "That's awful."

"Look, just..." Arietta glanced over to her brother who was babying his drum set, not paying attention to their conversation "Just don't tell Alex. He'll think it's his fault."

"What better time than the present to get back into playing?" Luke grinned "We're probably pretty rusty too, so Alex will only notice if you refuse to play."

Arietta glared playfully at the guitarist "That's low, Patterson. But fine. I'll play with you guys."

She grabbed her old guitar and strummed it gently, finding it already tuned.

"One, two, three, four!" Luke shouted.

They started to play, and for a moment, it was just like it had been before they died. Arietta played the part she knew by heart, but felt none of the fire she once had. Maybe because it was Bobby's part and they hadn't exactly been on the best of terms for months before she died. She shook her head, she refused to think about Bobby.

Julie stormed in "Guys! Guys, stop! Enough! Stop! Cut it out!" She shouted.

Reggie and Arietta stopped playing first. Luke played a last guitar riff and Alex smiled sheepishly as he hit the drums one last time.

Julie crossed her arms "The whole neighborhood could hear you. I thought I told you to leave."

"Wait. People can hear us play?" Luke asked.

"Yes! And so did my Dad and my brother!" Julie whisper shouted.

"W-w-wait. Wait. So, only you can see us, but everyone can hear us?" Alex grinned "I mean, what kind of ghosts are we?"

"Who cares, man?" Luke cheered "People can hear us play!"

"We might be dead, but our music isn't." Reggie joked.

The boys all fist bumped each other then raced over and crushed Ari in a hug. Julie just glared at them until her Dad came in.

"Dad!" She exclaimed, alerting the ghosts to the man's presence.

"Hey. Just making sure you're okay." Her Dad said awkwardly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just had to turn off the CD player." Julie lied.

Her Dad looked at the instruments that were out "Wait. Is this the junk that was in the loft?"

"Junk?" Luke was highly offended by that comment.

The Dad walked around and banged on a few of Alex's drums "Some of this stuff's in pretty good shape. Hey, maybe we can make a couple bucks."

Alex's face turned pink "What? Yo, stop touching my drums. Tell him to stop touching my drums."

Luke gestured wildly at Julie who just shrugged helplessly.

Luckily for Julie's Dad, he walked around the drum set and stopped messing with them "I liked that song you had on."

"Sweet! We're Sunset Curve." Luke introduced the band.

"Tell your friends." Reggie nodded.

"It's just an old CD I found." Julie glared at the boys.

"Well, still, it's nice that you're listening to music again." The Dad smiled "Out here you can play whatever you want, whenever you want."

He spread his arms and they went straight through Luke and Reggie's chests. The boys looked so excited that they could phase like that it was almost enough to put a small smile on Arietta's face.

"Oh! That's nice!" Reggie shouted.

"Stay out of this." Julie growled at the bass player.

Her Dad thought she was talking to him "I-I'm sorry, honey. I didn't..."

Julie's face turned to one of horror "Oh no, no, no, no. Not you. I mean...uh...er....you know, give me a minute." She pulled her Dad to the door.

"Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. We're gonna figure out this music program thing."

"Thanks, Dad." Julie smiled then gestured for him to leave.

Reggie waved to the man's back as he left.

"He likes our song." Luke cheered.

"Oh yeah. He doesn't count." Alex groaned "He's a Dad."

"Why can't you guys just be normal ghosts?" Julie shouted, closing the door "Hang out in an old mansion. I hear Pasadena's nice. Ugh!" She stormed out.

"I think she's warming up to us." Alex said pouring optimism into every word.

"Yeah, I've always wanted to go to Pasadena." Reggie shrugged.

Luke rolled his eyes and poofed out of the studio.

Ari shook her head "Trust me, Reg, Pasadena's not that nice."

"How do you know?" Reggie asked.

Ari bit her lip and looked away "Let's go make sure Julie doesn't kill Luke, again."

She vanished and reappeared outside the door, Luke was saying "That's a gift no musician would ever turn down. You gotta know that. Clearly your Mom is into music."

Ari could have smacked him. She'd noticed there was no mother at the dinner table when they interrupted Julie's family meal. 

Julie proved her suspicions correct "Was. She passed away."

Luke's face fell "I am...so sorry."

"Yeah, we...we didn't know." Alex's voice said softly from Arietta's right, he took her hand in his.

"It's all right." Julie sighed "You guys haven't seen her anywhere, have you? From wherever you're from."

"Um..." Alex paused and Reggie shook his head "No. No, I mean, you're kind of the first person we've seen."

"Yeah, but she's not dead, so it doesn't answer her question." Reggie pointed out.

"Yeah." Alex shushed his friend "I think she knows what we mean. I'm sorry for your loss."

"We might not have seen her, but we can keep an eye out." Arietta offered softly.

"Thanks." Julie muttered "Sorry I got mad. You guys are kinda good."

"Kinda?" Luke pretended to be hurt "Y-y-you know that's like 25 years of rust just getting dusted off."

"Yeah." Reggie agreed "Do you play piano too? Ari does."

"Did." Arietta corrected.

"No." Julie said a bit too quickly "No, I don't play. That was my Mom's stuff in there."

"No way. She's an amazing songwriter." Luke complimented.

"She was." Julie nodded "Wait. How would you know?"

"Ari found a song on the piano." Luke pointed to the girl "If it's hers...Your Mom was really talented."

Julie found the strength to give the band and Ari a little smile before she turned to leave, but she stopped "I guess...if you need a place too stay, you can stay in there. There's a bathroom in the back and a couch that turns into a bed if you still use any of that stuff."

"Dibs on the shower!" Reggie shouted making them all look at him "I just really like showers and sometimes the occasional bath."

"This..." Julie shook her head "This is just too weird."

She walked away from them and back towards her house. Alex gave a little squeal and the boys all roped Arietta into another hug. She squirmed, feeling a little uncomfortable, and bit her lip. Alex seemed to notice and got the other two to back off.

"You okay, Ari?" He asked gently.

Arietta took a deep breath of the cold night air "I'm okay." She nodded.

"Let's go explore!" Luke suggested "I bet the city has changed so much. I want to see everything."

Arietta hesitated, she knew she was safe with her brother and his friends, but going out at night was how she died and how the grocery incident had happened.

Reggie glanced at the girl, he'd secretly liked her since they day they met in sixth grade, when she and Alex were the new kids in school. It hurt him more than he could say to know she'd been so hurt, he wanted to protect her, he wanted to keep her safe. But he'd died, and then she'd gotten hurt and died herself. Reggie knew he wasn't the smartest guy, but he knew Arietta as well as anyone, he knew she was afraid to go explore in case she got hurt again. He knew she wasn't telling them everything, Alex had said she knew who it was that hurt her, Reggie wanted to find out, not so he could judge her, so he could haunt the jerk and stop him from hurting anyone, especially Ari, ever again.

"Can I take a shower first?" Reggie asked "It's just, it's been 25 years and I feel disgusting."

Reggie glanced at Arietta, trying too let Luke in on his plan to give the siblings a moment alone where, hopefully, Alex might be able to get some more information out of his sister. Luke caught on right away.

"Yeah, I didn't want to say anything, but you kinda stink, man." He teased "But you're probably right, we could all use a shower."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So right after I started writing this chapter, I went to go get food and I literally almost died. Some jerk ran a red light as I was crossing the street, I had to dive out of the way and I smashed my head on the road. I currently have a nasty bruise and a concussion, I'm alright but pretty shaken up, so please forgive me if the next update takes a while. Sorry!


	3. Raising Your Voice to the Rain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Julie and the Phantoms!!! If you think of any tags or warnings I should add, let me know immediately, please and thank you.
> 
> Warning! You get an explanation of what happened to Arietta in this chapter. It is not explicit, but does contain drugging and sexual assault. I don't go into graphic detail, but I know it can still be upsetting so this is your warning. Don't like, don't read!
> 
> I will put dots around the scene so if you want to skip it, you can.

The boys let Arietta take the first shower, she washed herself as well as she could, discovering it was very difficult to hold the soap and the bottles as she didn't have a tangible form, took a towel and dried off before getting dressed in jeans, a tee shirt, and a jacket. She dried her hair with the towel as well as she could and let Reggie in to take his shower. Luke let Arietta know that Alex was in the loft and the girl walked up the stairs to where her brother was waiting.

"Hey, Ari." Alex gestured for her to sit down on the small stool across from him "Can we talk?"

Ari bit her lip, anxiety starting to build in her chest, but shrugged "Sure."

"What-what really happened to you?" Alex asked carefully "You don't have to give me all the details if you don't want to, but I want to be able to help you, so does Reggie and Luke. Please, talk to me."

Ari chewed on the inside of her cheek and twisted the small silver ring Alex had given her on their seventeenth birthday, it was simple and not very expensive, but it was her favorite piece of jewelry she'd ever owned. Twisting it had been a way for her to hold onto something of her brother even after he was gone.

'It's not a fun story." Arietta sighed "I'd really rather not talk about it."

"Ari, please, I need to know what happened." Alex begged.

Arietta looked down and stared at her shoes "Alright. Just, please, don't yell."

"I won't yell." Alex vowed.

***

"I told you I was going to get groceries, when it happened. Well, I...Mom and Dad, they were fighting and I decided to say out a little longer than I needed to. I was walking down the road and I ran into...a boy from school." Ari explained, hesitating before saying the boy's name, Alex had known him all too well "He offered to walk me home, but I wasn't ready to go back there yet, so he suggested we go get some drinks."

"I thought you didn't drink?" Alex asked.

"I-It was a hard day, it was exactly two months after you guys died, and I didn't get an alcoholic drink, just a club soda." Arietta took a deep breath "He, I don't know what he did exactly, he put something in my drink. It made everything fuzzy. The next thing I knew he had led me out to the back of the bar and started kissing me."

Alex didn't say anything, the look of horror on his face was clear and his eyes were bright with unshed tears.

"He..." Ari's breathing stuttered "Well, he kept going. I don't remember much, but I remember the pain and how cold the alley was. When he was done with me, he just left me there. I knew if I stayed there I might get hurt again, so I went home. Mom and Dad saw me, how messy I looked. I don't think they ever figured out what really happened to me, I told them I almost got mugged. They pretty much told me to get over it, that I was alive and I should be grateful for that."

Alex's jaw dropped and he started to stammer angrily "What?" He finally shouted.

Ari looked away, tears rolling down her cheeks "You promised you wouldn't yell, Alex." She whispered "Please, don't yell."

Alex quickly took a deep breath and calmed his voice "I'm not yelling at you, Ari. I'm sorry. I'm yelling at them." He knelt down in front of his sister "Who did it, Ari? Tell me."

Ari shook her head "Alex, I'm not ready. I might tell you one day, but today, it's just too much."

***

"You guys ready to go?" Luke's voice called up to the loft where the two siblings were sitting.

Alex glanced at his sister "Do you want to go out tonight? I can stay with you of you don't."

Ari took a deep breath "No, no, let's go see the city. Just, don't leave me. I'll be fine."

"I'm never leaving you again." Alex tried to hug her, but she took a little step back.

"Uh, maybe, maybe not right now." Ari said softly.

Alex dropped his arms "Oh, okay." He turned to lean over the railing "We're coming."

He led the way down the stairs to his fellow bandmates. Luke and Reggie looked at him, clearly asking if he'd learned anything, and Alex gave the tiniest, most imperceptible nod. Reggie looked like he was about to ask what he'd found out, but Luke saw Arietta coming down the stairs behind Alex.

"You ready?" He asked "'Cause I knew exactly where we should start."

"Where's that?" Alex asked.

"Let's check out the Orpheum." Luke grinned "I bet they've got a killer band playing."

It took them a couple tries to get to the Orpheum, and they still found themselves on top of the marquee. Reggie had lost his shirt during the latest vanishing and reappearing.

"Huh?" He noticed his lack of clothing.

"Hey, I know being dead isn't our first choice," Luke tried to lighten the mood as he patted the boy's knees "But, I mean, it sure is easy getting around."

"Easy for you maybe." Reggie grumbled "I lost my shirt on that one."

"We know, Reggie." Ari looked at the boy fondly "We know."

His shirt poofed back onto his body, scaring him a little "Ooh, never mind! There it is."

Luke laughed. 

Alex glanced up at the sign above them "Okay, so, why'd you bring us here? Just another painful reminder of where we never got to play? Thanks, Luke."

"I mean, boys and girl, the game isn't over yet." Luke argued.

They vanished themselves down to the ground and Ari looked around nervously. Alex noticed and gently took her hand in his.

"I'm telling you, we've been given a second chance." Luke exclaimed, not noticing the siblings "Let's find some music. Let's see how many clubs we can hit before sunrise."

Luke led them down the sidewalk. A tall man in a top hat and violet suit was walking towards them, and Alex, thinking he'd pass right through the man, didn't bother to move out of the way. They bumped shoulders and Alex was almost knocked down, taking Arietta with him. The man eyed them and tipped his hat, Alex and Arietta stared after him.

"Hey, Alex, Ari, you guys coming?" Luke called "Let's go!"

They walked down Sunset Boulevard towards the club scene, Luke listening intently for music at every place they passed. Finally he found a small club with a live band and he tugged his friends inside. The band wasn't terrible, but they weren't Sunset Curve good either.

Reggie grinned and took Arietta's free hand excitedly "We didn't even have to wait in line!"

"Reggie, why don't you and Ari go find us a place to sit?" Alex suggested, he needed to talk to Luke alone for a minute.

"Yeah, sure." Reggie's face brightened and his already pink cheeks flushed a darker shade.

Arietta nodded and let Reggie lead her towards the VIP section where there were less people. Alex smiled, he knew Reggie might be clueless when it came to most things, but with his sister, Reggie could help her without even trying. She had been clearly uncomfortably with all the people milling around them, so Reggie had taken her to the less populated area of the club. 

Luke pulled him out of his thoughts "So, what did you find out, dude?"

Alex looked at him, and felt the tears pricking the corners of his eyes "It's what we thought." Luke's sharp inhale was enough to tell him he understood but Alex couldn't stop talking "Some guy from school drugged her. Our parents saw her all messy looking and she told them she was almost mugged and they told her to get over it and I should have been there and--"

"Alex!" Luke's voice cut through the drummer's rambling "Take a breath, dude! Did she tell you who did it?"

Alex slowly shook his head "No, she just said it was a guy from school."

"That doesn't help narrow it down, there were tons of guys we knew from school." Luke groaned and ran his hands over his face "What are we gonna do?"

Alex shook his head "For now, I think we just have to be there for her. But, Luke, it's so hard. She-she actually looks dead, have you noticed? She's so thin and I can't stop thinking that if I had been there, none of this would have happened."

Luke sighed "It's gonna be okay, dude. We just have to stick with her, we'll help her. You good to go join them? Or do you want another minute?"

Alex wiped his eyes, he hadn't even realized he'd started tearing up "No, no I'm good. Let's go." Suddenly he caught Luke's hand "Wait, don't tell Reggie everything, not yet."

"What? Why not?" Luke's eyebrows furrowed.

"He likes her." Alex said painfully "If we tell him everything he's gonna be heartbroken. Just let him have a little time."

Luke wasn't sure how smart an idea that was but he nodded anyway.

The ghosts spent the night hanging out, bouncing from club to club, but the boys made sure Arietta was never alone, one of them was alway nearby if not right next to her.

By the time they got back to the studio it was very early. The boys all crashed in the loft and fell asleep right away. But Arietta couldn't sleep, with sleep came dreams, nightmares. So she just sat on the couch waiting for morning. But Reggie had always been a light sleeper, he woke up and noticed she wasn't there. Instead of alerting her brother and Luke, Reggie peaked over the railing and saw Arietta sitting on the couch, fiddling with her fingers.

Reggie didn't poof down to her, he took the stairs, not wanting to scare her "Hey." He said softly when he reached the bottom of the steps.

Ari didn't look up "Hey."

"Why don't you get some sleep?" Reggie suggested "Come on, there are blankets and pillows in the loft."

Arietta shook her head "I can't sleep."

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

Ari gave a strangled sob "It's just...every time I close my eyes, he's there."

Reggie sat down next to her, but he didn't touch her yet, he knew she'd been through something and wasn't as fond of physical affection as she had been before they died. 

"Who? Who do you see?" Reggie asked softly.

"If I tell you, you'll hate me." Ari whispered.

"I could never hate you."

Arietta looked at him, her face red and blotchy and her eyes shining with tears. She saw the absolute love in his eyes and that broke her. With a quiet whimper she flung herself into Reggie's arms. He was surprised but quickly lifted his arms to circle her and hold her close and safe. 

Gently Reggie rubbed small circles on her back "You're going to be okay. You're safe now." He repeated over and over "I'm here for you. So are Luke and Alex. You don't need to be afraid of whoever it was anymore."

Arietta hiccuped and wept as she let all the pain flood her body. She had held it in ever since it happened, never really processing it, never accepting it, just living in the constant state of fear, anxiety, and pain. Finally after what felt like hours, she cried herself into silence, Reggie still held her, he hadn't let her go for a moment during the whole breakdown.

"It's a long story, Reg." Ari finally said "I told Alex yesterday, I don't think I can tell it again so soon."

"That's okay." Reggie assured her "Take all the time you need. I'm still gonna be here for you."

"Thanks, but...maybe you guys should know." Ari mumbled "I don't like keeping secrets from you."

"Tomorrow." Reggie told her decisively "Right now you need sleep."

Arietta tried to protest but yawned before she got any words out.

"See." Reggie pointed "Sleep. Come on, let's go sleep in the loft with the others."

He took Arietta's hand and gently guided her up the stairs. He laid out a blanket on the floor for her, next to Alex's. Slowly Arietta lay down on the fabric. She shifted a bit then looked up at Reggie.

"Wait, can you...can you stay with me? Just until I fall asleep? It's just, in that room, I was only able to sleep because you were there." Arietta flushed pink.

Reggie's cheeks were red too "Of course, Ari." 

He sat down, leaning against a box, and took her hand. Reggie had a talent for falling asleep anywhere, so it was no surprise when, ten minutes later, he slumped down next to Arietta on the blanket and started trying to steal the throw he'd given her. Arietta actually didn't mind Reggie's closeness. He was warm, and she closed her eyes as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close like she was a teddy bear. It was how they'd spent many nights in the studio. Reggie would curl up and cuddle with the closest person he could, or all of them, he called it a "cuddle puddle" to make Arietta laugh. Arietta soon found herself drifting off to dreamland and, for once, she didn't dream of the incident, she dreamed of her brother, Luke, and most of all, Reggie.

It felt like she'd only been asleep for a few minutes, but the light that streamed through the windows told a different story. From below, Arietta could hear someone singing and playing the piano.

"Here's one thing I want you to know  
You got some place to go  
Life's a test, yes, but you go toe-to-toe  
You don't give up, no, you grow  
And you use your pain  
'Cause it makes you you  
Though I wish I could hold you through it  
I know it's not the same  
You got living to do  
And I just want you to do it  
So get up, get out relight that spark  
You know the rest by heart  
Wake up, wake up if it's all you do  
Look down, look inside of you  
It's not what you lost  
It's what you'll gain raising your voice to the rain  
Wake up your dream and make it true  
Look out, look inside of you  
It's not what you lost  
Relight that spark time to come out of the dark  
Wake up, wake up  
Better wake those demons  
Just look them in the eye  
No reason not to try  
Life can be a mess  
I won't let it cloud my mind  
I'll let my fingers fly  
And I use the pain 'cause it's part of me  
And I'm ready to power through it  
Gonna find the strength, find the melody  
'Cause you showed me how to do it  
Get up, get out relight that spark  
You know the rest by heart  
Wake up, wake up if it's all you do  
Look down, look inside of you  
It's not what you lost  
It's what you'll gain raising your voice to the rain  
Wake up your dream and make it true  
Look out, look inside of you  
It's not what you lost  
Relight that spark time to come out of the dark  
Wake up, wake up  
So, wake that spirit, spirit  
I wanna hear it, hear it  
No need to fear it you're not alone  
You're gonna find your way, oh  
Wake up, wake up if it's all you do  
Look down, look inside of you  
It's not what you lost  
It's what you'll gain raising your voice to the rain  
Wake up your dream and make it true  
Look out, look inside of you  
When you feel lost  
Relight that spark time to come out of the dark  
Wake up, mm, wake up"

Arietta noticed the boys were all awake too and were listening intently to Julie singing. They all poofed down to stand behind the piano, as Julie finished her song, they watched as she lifted the sheet music she'd been playing and held it to her chest as she started to cry. Luke grabbed their hands and poofed them outside the studio.


	4. Life is a Risk, But I Will Take it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Julie and the Phantoms!!! Again, if you think of any tags or warnings I should add, let me know, please and thank you! Enjoy the chapter!

Luke grabbed their hands and poofed them outside the studio.

"Ooh, dude, why'd you stop me? Julie needs a hug." Alex complained.

Luke turned to him "Bro, a ghost hug isn't the feel-good moment that you think it is. All right? Trust me. What Julie needs right now is just a bit of privacy."

Alex and Reggie looked at Arietta "What do you think?" Alex asked.

"Why me?"

"Well, you're a girl too." Reggie pointed out.

Arietta rolled her eyes "Yeah, I agree with Luke. That song was the one I found on the piano, the one from Julie's Mom. Let's give her a minute."

"You know what?" Alex turned to tease Luke "I think you poofed us out because you can't handle when people cry. I should know. I cried in a room for 25 years, and I didn't get a single hug from either of you."

"All right. Bring it in." Reggie moved to hug Alex.

"Don't touch me!" Alex stopped him.

"This is why no one hugs you." Reggie grumbled.

Arietta moved forward and awkwardly hugged her brother for a moment before letting go quickly.

Reggie pouted "So she gets to give hugs but I don't?"

"She's my sister." Alex pointed out.

"Fair enough." Reggie sighed.

"Okay." Luke sighed "I think the first thing we should do, once we get the courage to go in there, is ask Julie...why she lied about playing the piano."

"Yeah, you know, maybe tell her how amazing she is." Alex suggested.

"She's legit. I got ghost bumps." Reggie agreed.

Arietta shook her head "I can tell you why she didn't tell us she played."

"Why?" All the boys looked at her.

"Her Mom. She said her Mom was into music before she died. It must have been so hard, getting back to it. I mean, after you guys died, my parents ba-" Arietta stopped herself "Never mind."

"What?" Alex asked "What did they do?"

"They banned music from the house. I wasn't even allowed to listen to it." Arietta muttered.

Alex's jaw dropped "Why?"

"They said it was too painful."

Another girl walked past them, quiet sobs shaking her shoulders.

"Oh my gosh. Was she crying too?" Alex asked.

"Yes!" Luke hissed "And the only thing scarier than one girl crying is two girls crying."

"You wanna make it three?" Arietta bit her lip.

"Guys, we definitely can't go in there." Luke shook his head "Please, don't cry, Ari."

"But we can listen." Reggie nodded.

They all shoved to get over to the windows, until Arietta rolled her eyes and moved to peak around the door, being too short to see through the glass, and they boys all stuck their heads in the windows.

"Carlos told me you'd be out here." The new girl said "We need to talk."

"Are you okay?" Julie asked nervously.

"No, I'm not okay! You just got kicked out of music! I've been up all night thinking about what I was gonna say. Might've drank seven sodas, but...I need to get this out." The girl sighed.

"Wait. I have something to tell you-" Julie tried to interrupt.

"No, it's my turn to talk." The girl held up a hand to stop Julie "You can't give up music. Your music's like a gift, that would be a tragedy. So you're basically, like, cancelling Christmas, and I love Christmas!"

"Flynn, I-" So the girl's name was Flynn.

"Uh-uh!" Flynn stopped Julie again "When we were six, we promised to be in a band together. Double Trouble."

"I never agreed to that name." Julie shook her head.

Flynn sighed "That's not the point. Jules, if you leave the music program, we'll be apart forever. That's just what happens. Sure we'll see each other in the hall sometime, but...we'll have different lives, make new friends."

"That's not true."

"You're right. I won't be making any new friends. And the only time we'll contact each other is when we'll be liking each other's posts on Instagram. And every time I'll be hitting that little heart, but my heart will be breaking because my best friend left me, and...Oh! Do you have any soda? My head hurts."

"She's dramatic." Arietta whispered to the boys "I like it."

"Can I talk now?" Julie asked from inside the studio.

"Fine." Flynn groaned.

Julie took a deep breath "I just played the piano and sang again."

"What? Why didn't you just say so?" Flynn shouted.

"I was trying, then your seven sodas kicked in." Julie joked.

"I'm so happy for you!" Flynn squealed "And me! Look at you, looking all, I don't know, alive again."

"Right? It's like I drank seven sodas." Julie laughed.

"What made you play again?" Flynn asked.

"I found this song my Mom wrote for me." Julie passed Flynn the sheet music.

"Whoa." Flynn murmured.

"I know. I was so afraid to play it. Anything involving music reminds me of her."

"I told you." Arietta whispered.

Reggie reached over and put a hand on her face, he was aiming for her mouth but covered her eyes instead, as he was so focused on the scene in the studio. Arietta removed his hand and went back to watching Julie and Flynn.

"And then I woke up this morning..." Julie was saying "Realizing that's why I should play it. To keep her memory alive."

"Aw! Come here." Flynn opened her arms for a hug.

Julie accepted the embrace and as soon as she pulled away, Flynn's face lit up.

"We need to tell Mrs. Harrison you can play again so you can stay in school and my life won't be that sad picture I just painted for you. My girl's back! Double Trouble lives again!" Flynn cheered.

"Not our band name." Julie argued.

"I gave you a tee-shirt in the seventh grade that says otherwise." Flynn sassed.

They came towards the door and the boys and Ari began acting suspiciously casual. Julie noticed them leaning awkwardly on the door.

"Oh hey!" She grinned.

Flynn looked back at her confused as to who Julie was talking to.

"Let's hustle!" Julie quickly covered and followed her friend, waving as she left. 

"Don't worry, we weren't listening." Reggie called.

Luke kicked him.

Flynn noticed the wave and seemed very concerned so Julie played it off as brushing a branch off her shoulder. The band laughed and even Arietta cracked a smile. Luke and Reggie helped Arietta to her feet and led the way into the studio.

"I wonder why Julie didn't tell us she could shred on the piano?" Reggie said, looking around.

"And sing. That girl can sing." Luke nodded

"I told you why." Arietta rolled her eyes

"It must've been hard." Alex agreed and started to go up to the loft "Anyway, I really feel for her."

"Yeah, but...now she's got music back in her life, just like us." Luke argued.

Alex leaned over the railing "Yeah, I'm not sure you can call what we have a life." He looked around "Oh hey, some of the clothes we left behind are still up here."

"Sweet!" Luke shouted as Alex tossed the trash bag of clothes over the edge.

Alex tossed Reggie his old backpack and he caught it "Ari, there are even some of your old clothes up here that might still fit you." 

He threw the bag down too.

"Oh, same clothes since '95, boys and girl." Luke practically moaned as he took off his shirt.

Reggie nodded, hiding a quick glance at Ari who was digging through her bag. He didn't notice the studio door open and Julie's Dad, Ray, walk in until the man walked straight through him.

"Oh, that was weird!" Reggie exclaimed "But somehow I can tell this man has a kind heart."

"So how've you been?" Ray asked.

"Honestly, not that good." Reggie sighed "See, we ate these hot dogs, and-"

"Julie sang for the first time this morning." Ray said.

"He's talking to Julie's Mom." Ari whispered.

Ray continued, unable to hear the ghosts "She hadn't done that in almost a year. You would've loved it."

"Yeah, we saw 'cause we were..." Reggie still didn't quite get it until he started waving his hand in front of Ray's face "Oh! Oh, I get it. He...he's not talking to us."

"You are so lucky you can play bass." Luke teased.

"Pretty sure he's talking to Julie's Mom." Alex looked at Arietta "You were right."

"She's such an amazing young woman." Ray moved over to the piano "Every day she reminds me more and more of you."

"Ari called it!" Alex grinned down at his sister.

Ray picked up his camera "Oh, I'm, uh...I'm taking pictures for the real estate website. I don't really wanna move, but...I guess it's best for Julie."

Alex joined them in front of the piano as Ray sat down.

"Move?" Luke leaned forward on the piano.

"There's so many memories of Julie playing next to you, and..." Ray ran his hands over the keys "Carlos trying to sing with his missing two front teeth."

Luke looked like he was about to burst into tears as he ran a hand over his face shakily.

"Oh no, Luke, not you too." Reggie bit his lip to stop the tears forming in his own eyes.

"He...He's talking about moving, but the poor guy, he doesn't want to move." Luke sobbed.

Arietta steeled herself and reached out, taking Luke's hand.

Ray took a picture "It's like they grew up...out here."

"Oh man, now's he's got me going too." Reggie cried.

"Okay, how am I the emotional one?" Alex asked.

Ari swallowed hard and reached out to take Reggie's hand with her free one. He looked over at her and saw how hard she was trying to hold in all the emotions. Reggie slowly and carefully put his arm around Arietta's shoulder, she still held Luke's hand but dropped his.

"C-c-can we go see my family and see how they're doing?" Reggie whispered.

Arietta tried not to let those words sent shivers down her spine. She didn't want to see her parents, not yet at least, and definitely not without Alex, but she knew Alex wasn't ready. Instead she just nodded into Reggie's shoulder.

"Yeah." Alex agreed "Yeah, listening to this feels...wrong."

As if to prove Alex's point, Ray said "Hey, do you remember when the kids were at your sister's, and we came out here on our anniversary..."

"Yeah. No, definitely wrong." Luke poofed away.

"Ooh, yep." Reggie grabbed Ari's hand and poofed them away together.

***

The band and Ari found themselves at the beach where Reggie's house had once been. There were kids playing volleyball in the background as they stared at where Reggie's place had once been.

"A bike shack right where may house used to be." Reggie said disbelief coloring his tone "Right here."

"Yeah, I'm sorry, man." Luke leaned on Reggie's shoulder.

Alex tried not to notice how Reggie hadn't let go of Arietta's hand since he'd seen what had become of his old house. Reggie needed comfort and Ari was always the person who was best at making him feel better.

"They made the Meyersons' house into a noodle shop." Reggie groaned "Why couldn't they have made mine into a pizzeria or something?"

"They tore down the whole neighborhood." Alex sighed.

"I guess my folks are gone."

"No. Everyone's gone." Alex corrected "Twenty-five years, gone. Friends, family, Bobby, everyone."

Arietta stiffened at the mention of the last living band member and she slipped her now clammy hand out of Reggie's grip. This didn't go unnoticed by the boys.

"Bobby, that's right." Reggie realized "I guess that vegetarian lucked out. What do you think happened to him?" 

"He probably just got old like everybody else and moved on." Luke said harshly.

Reggie suddenly noticed how Arietta was standing so still and her eyes were glancing around wildly "Ari? You okay?"

Arietta quickly blinked and looked back at the boys "Yeah, yeah I'm fine."

"What is it?" Alex asked "Ari, tell us."

Ari shook her head "Bobby and I just didn't end on great terms. Can we leave it there?"

"Bad terms don't make you freeze like a deer in headlights." Luke tried to joke then turned serious "Really, Ari, what is it?"

Ari made quick eye contact with her brother "Tell them."

"Tell them?" Alex asked, making sure he heard correctly "Tell them what happened you mean? What you told me about yesterday?"

Arietta bit her lip and nodded "Please, I can't do it."

Alex tried his best to explain what his sister had told him, of course Luke already knew, but with Reggie, he knew he'd have to be a little blunter. By the time he finished the tale, Reggie looked like he was about to cry.

"Ari..." Reggie turned to the only girl who was now sitting on a bench "I'm so sorry, we should have been there."

"It's not your fault."

"Will you tell us who?" Luke asked "Please?"

"It won't make any difference." Ari sighed "You-he...there's nothing you can do."

"Maybe there is!" Reggie shouted "We have to do something! This guy can't just get away with hurting you!"

"Reggie, it was twenty-four years ago. I doubt I'll ever see him again. There's no way of knowing where he is now anyway." Arietta mumbled "And frankly, I don't want to see him again. Ever again."

"You said he was a boy from school, right?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, what does that matter?"

"Well, you won't tell us his name because you know we'll recognize it. That means it's someone all of us knew." Alex got an idea "I'm gonna go see if I can find our old yearbook."

"Alex, don't!" Arietta begged "Please, it's in the past. Can't we just leave it there?"

The boys all shared a look and had a silent conversation that lasted only a moment. They were so close they all got the same idea.

Reggie sat down next to Arietta but didn't touch her "Ari, we just want to help you. That's why we have to do this." He grabbed Arietta's hand and poofed them back to the studio.

Alex and Luke vanished, poofing to their old school in the library where they knew the old yearbooks would be kept. They started thumbing through the books, looking for the 1995 yearbook. It didn't take them long to find it. It took both of them to actually get it off the shelf and they held it tightly as they vanished and reappeared back in the studio.

Ari was sitting on the couch, fiddling with her fingers, Reggie was trying to make her laugh by telling funny stories, but failing miserably.

"Did you get it?" He asked, when the other two boys poofed back in.

"We got it." Luke nodded and held out the book.

"Please..." Ari's voice was soft and wavering "Don't. Don't do this."

"We have to, Ari." Luke told her sadly.

The boys put the yearbook in front of her and piled next to her on the couch. They slowly turned each page, making Arietta look at each of the faces. It wasn't until they got to the page with a picture of Sunset Curve that she tensed. It was so small, they might not have noticed it if they weren't paying such close attention. Luke and Alex watched as her eyes filled with tears and she bit her lip.

"I can't do this." Arietta suddenly stood up "Please, I can't do this."

Luke grabbed her arm, not roughly but firmly, and pulled her back down "I know this is hard, but you have to help us understand."

Ari started to shake, becoming a leaf in the wind as she trembled. Her breath came in short gasps, her eyes squeezed shut and tears began to roll down her cheeks. The boys suddenly felt awful.

"Ari." Alex closed the book "I'm sorry. We shouldn't have..."

She shied away from him as he tried to reach out to her.

Luke and Reggie shared a desperate look. Luke realized he was still gripping Ari's arm and quickly let go. She curled in on herself, shaking with sobs, and pushed herself to the other end of the couch, as far away from them as she could get. Alex looked like he was about to cry.

"Dude, let's give her a minute." Luke suggested.

"I'll stay with her." Reggie offered "You guys go outside. She shouldn't be overwhelmed right now."

Luke and Alex poofed to just outside the door.

"Oh my God, we messed up." Alex whimpered "We should have just let her come to us when she was ready, we shouldn't have pushed. Now she'll never tell us anything again."

Luke ran a hand through his hair "You're right, man. We shouldn't have pried or tried to force her. We can show her we're sorry and maybe she'll forgive us. But it's gonna take time."

"She's gonna hate me!" Alex tried to keep his voice low.

"No, she loves you. She knows we love her and that's why we did this. Ari's a very understanding person. We'll be all right."

Inside, Reggie was kneeling in front of Ari who was curled in a tight ball, pressing herself into the couch.

"Ari, match my breathing." He took exaggerated breaths so she could follow "Good, now keep doing that. You're gonna be okay."

Slowly, Ari's breathing calmed, but she didn't stop trying to merge with the cushions. 

Reggie held his hand out hesitantly "Ari, take my hand." He pleaded, trying to get the girl he loved to look at him "Please, all you have to do right now is take my hand."

Ari's eyes opened, they were wide and distrustful. But she saw the look of despair on the boy's face and took one more shaky breath before she reached out and loosely put her hand in Reggie's. Reggie's eyes were also filled with tears, he gently pulled Ari to her feet, but her knees gave out from under her and he just barely managed to catch her. She didn't have the strength or the will to do anything or go anywhere.

Reggie made a split second decision "I'm gonna carry you upstairs so you can get some rest, okay?"

Ari's hands clutched at his leather jacket and Reggie thanked whatever God was out there that he had started going to the gym before he died as he lifted her up and carried her like a princess up the stairs to the makeshift beds they had used the night before. He laid her down and grabbed a blanket from nearby that he used to cover Ari's shivering form. He remembered what she had said the night before, about how he helped her sleep, so instead of leaving her, he sat down next to her, cross legged, and gently ran his fingers through her long, soft, blonde hair.

Arietta leaned into his touch, she wasn't sure why, but Reggie always made her feel safer. She allowed him to gently brush her hair for a while until she felt calmer, then glanced up at the dark haired boy. Her eyes were still wide and afraid and Reggie suddenly pulled her so she was practically sitting on his lap, not in a sexual way, they just both needed the comfort from the other at the moment. The sudden movement surprised her but it wasn't unwelcome. Ari nestled her head into the crook of Reggie's neck, and was able to close her eyes as she felt him bury his face in her hair. She felt soothed and peaceful as they stayed there, Reggie holding her in his arms and Arietta unable to stop herself from snuggling into his grip.

They stayed like that for a while, even after they heard Luke and Alex come back in, just holding each other. Then Reggie leaned back. He studied the face of the girl he had loved as long as he'd known her and did the thing he'd been dreaming about for years.

He leaned forward and kissed her chastely on the lips. 

It was such a simple move, but Reggie couldn't think of any other way to convey his feelings. He pulled away quickly, in case it was an unwelcome advance.

Arietta looked at Reggie, she'd had a crush on him before he died if she was honest with herself, but when he had died, and she'd faced the grocery incident, she thought no one could ever truly love her. Now Reggie was looking at her with so much love in his eyes that she had to wonder just how long he'd been holding these feeling back for, they seemed deeply rooted and honest.

"I'm sorry." Reggie whispered.

"Don't be sorry." Arietta blinked "I'm not upset. I'm surprised."

"Why? You're a beautiful, talented, amazing girl, Ari." Reggie whispered "I love you."

Arietta sucked in a sharp breath "Why? I thought, after everything, no one would ever love me."

"Why would you think that?"

"It's what B-I mean, he told me." Ari almost gave up the name she'd been hiding for so long "After everything he said 'Now no one will ever love you but me.'"

Reggie swept her hair behind her ear "He was wrong. I love you Arietta. I have loved you since the first moment I saw you. That will never change."

Ari reached up and cupped Reggie's cheek "I-I love you too."

Reggie's smile almost broke his face in two "You do?"

"Yes, I do." Arietta smiled wetly "I love you."

"Does that mean...Is it all right if I kiss you again?"

Ari nodded softly and Reggie pressed his lips to hers once more. He didn't try to push her, or touch her, or do anything other than gently kiss her, he knew she needed to take things slow, and he was absolutely okay with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is my first time trying to write a love story, I don't have a lot of experience with guys so I'm not great at it. I'm doing my best and maybe it's more like tooth-rotting fluffiness but it's supposed to be really sweet and loving. I hope I did a good job with the kissing part, I haven't had great experiences with love to be honest so I just kind of wrote what I wished was real. If you have any ideas for how to make it better, cuter, more realistic, or sweeter leave a comment or something so I can read it and hopefully get better with your feedback.


	5. Close My Eyes and Jump

Reggie and Ari stayed in the loft for several hours, Reggie holding Arietta gently as she sat on his lap, kissing occasionally. Reggie whispered his love for her over and over again in her ears, his voice filling her and soothing her panic from before. Soon Arietta snuggled into his shoulder and began to doze, her breathing became even and Reggie couldn't help but smile as he pressed a small kiss to the top of her head.

"Reggie?" Luke came up the stairs, keeping his voice low so as not to wake Arietta "How's she doing?"

Reggie sighed and ran his hand through her hair again "She's not great, but she's sleeping. We shouldn't have tried to make her tell us."

"Yeah, it was a mistake." Luke agreed "Did she tell you anything?"

Reggie thought back to their conversation "She almost said a name."

"Who?"

"I don't know, she said B-he..." A horrible thought occurred to Reggie and Luke at the same time 

"You don't think she was gonna say Bobby, do you?" Luke asked nervously.

Reggie started to chew on his bottom lip, a nervous habit he had "Well, she freaked out when we mentioned Bobby at the beach, then it was the picture of the band that set her off. I-Oh God! Was it Bobby?"

"I don't know." Luke's brow furrowed and he glanced at Arietta who was still sleeping in Reggie's arms "Should we ask her?"

"No." Reggie said sharply "I think we've done enough damage. When she's ready to tell us, she'll tell us."

"Yeah, yeah, you're right." Luke ran a hand over his face "What do we tell Alex?"

Reggie thought about it, if they told Alex, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from from asking his sister and quite possibly freaking her out again. But if they kept it from him and the truth came out, he'd be furious with them and have every right to be.

"I think we should tell him that we might have a lead but we don't know for sure yet and we don't want to upset Arietta any more." He finally decided.

Luke stared at him "You know, you're a really smart dude. Especially when it comes to Ari."

"Thanks." Reggie smiled down at the girl asleep in his arms "I love her."

"I know." 

"You know? How?"

"I said you're smart, not subtle." Luke laughed softly "I'm happy for you, Reg. But I've got to warn you, if you hurt her, Alex and I are gonna kill you again."

"I'm never gonna hurt her." Reggie gently brushed a lock of hair from Ari's face "I feel like I've got the whole world in my arms right now."

"That's so sappy, but also really sweet." Luke smiled "Have you told her how you feel?"

"Yeah." Reggie's face lit up "She likes me too."

"Yeah, I know that too."

They stayed there for another hour just chatting quietly before Ari began to shift and squirm in Reggie's arms like she was having a nightmare. Luke looked panicked but Reggie just cupped Ari's face in his hands and whispered.

"Ari, come back to us. You're having a nightmare. You're safe now."

Slowly, Ari's eyes fluttered open and she tried to steady her breathing. Reggie reached down and held her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Arietta glanced over at Luke and whimpered, burying her face back in Reggie's shoulder.

"Ari," Luke started to say "I'm so sorry. We won't bring it up again, I promise. We were wrong to try and force you to tell us what happened and we will never do it again."

Arietta lifted her head and looked at Luke, the heartbreak and distrust clear in her eyes but she could see how sorry he was and that he really meant what he said. She glanced at Reggie who smiled tenderly at her and nodded encouragingly. Ari reached out her hand and patted Luke's knee, which was closest to her. The lead guitarist looked like he could burst from relief. 

Alex came up the stairs and saw Reggie holding his sister, who had one hand softly on Luke's knee. 

"Ari." Alex cleared his throat, alerting them to his presence "I'm so sorry. I messed up, I know it. I was stupid and I should have let you tell us in your own time."

Ari looked at her brother, she loved him but could she trust him to leave the topic alone? She slowly disentangled herself from Reggie's arms and moved in front of Alex. For a minute he thought she was going to smack him. Instead she hugged him. It was a short hug, but it made things perfectly clear. He had been forgiven but if he pulled something like that again, it would be a lot harder to make it up.

"Thanks, Ari." Alex whispered.

Ari smiled and nodded softly. 

Reggie held a hand out for her to take "Hey, let's go explore Julie's house." He suggested.

"That's not a good idea." Arietta tried to tell them.

"C'mon, how bad can it be?" Luke tried to smile "Let's go find Julie. We can see if she'll give us a tour."

***

They did not find Julie, they did however find her room. Reggie flopped on the bed and started pretending he was making snow angels. Alex tried to pick up a random picture on the desk and kept failing. Arietta stood staring out the window at all the colors of the world. Luke was looking at a small box on a shelf. He reached out for it.

"What are you doing in my room?" Julie's voice surprised them all, making Ari jump away from the window, even though she was the only one not really doing anything wrong.

"Uh..." Reggie stammered.

"Um..." Alex fumbled.

"We were looking for the kitchen." Luke was a terrible liar, especially considering he was still reaching for the box.

"This...This can't happen. It's creepy." Julie pointed at them "Get off my bed please."

Reggie rolled off the bed and ran to Ari. 

Luke raised his hand "Hey, Julie. What's in the box?"

"Luke..." Ari tried to warn her friend.

"That's off-limits." Julie growled.

Luke chuckled "Oh. Oh, okay. Girl stuff."

Arietta reached over and smacked him gently on the arm.

"Oh, like butterflies and glitter?" Reggie asked smiling.

Ari smacked his arm too.

"Oh, come on." Alex sighed "I'm sorry about those two."

"It's none of your business." Julie crossed her arms "And yes, there might be some glitter."

Reggie smirked proudly. Alex finally managed to pick up the picture he'd been trying to grab and walked over towards the bed.

"Hey! I actually picked something up." The picture slipped from his hands and landed on the bed "I dropped it."

"Is that your Mom?" Luke asked, looking down at the frame.

"Yes, and it's my favorite picture of us." Julie hurried forward "So if you break it, I'll break you."

"Okay, well, I'm sorry because we're kind of unbreakable at this point." Alex pointed out.

"Not to me. I'll help her." Ari pointed to Julie "I told you coming in here was a bad idea."

"I don't get it. You guys can mess up my bed, pick up your instruments, but you can't pick up other stuff?" Julie asked.

"I know, right? It's hard." Luke complained "But for some reason, our instruments, easy."

"Yeah, like, super easy." Reggie stood up from the chair he was sitting in "Oh, and check out what I learned today. Ah!" His bass appeared above him, knocking him back down into the chair.

Ari actually giggled.

"Yeah, that looked super easy." Julie rolled her eyes.

"It's like I always thought, our instruments are attached to our souls." Luke argued.

Ray knocked on the door "Hey."

Reggie flipped over the chair and Alex's hand flew to Luke's chest and the guitarist grabbed it. Ari glanced at them as Reggie pushed her slightly behind him, she knew those two had had a sort of relationship for a few months before they died, breaking it off only two months before their deaths. Alex always went to herself or Luke for comfort. She may have been the first person he came out too, but Luke was his first crush and first boyfriend. Luke wasn't sure what he was exactly, but he had liked Alex back, until the relationship fell apart like one of the band's wet t-shirts. Ari was glad the two had been able to stay friends.

"Everything okay?" Ray asked, peaking his head around the doorframe.

"Yeah." Julie lied "I'm fine."

"Okay. I thought I heard you talking to someone."

"Nope." Julie shook her head quickly "Must've been my laptop...that I just closed."

"Okay." Her Dad nodded "If you need anything..." He gestured asking if Julie wanted the door shut.

"Yeah. Thanks."

Ray walked out, closing the door behind him.

"Your Dad seems like the kind of guy who likes to barbecue." Reggie grinned "I bet he has a great ribs recipe."

"I don't know. But if you guys wanna talk to me, we have to do it in the studio. He's worried about me enough as it is." Julie sighed.

"He seems chill." Luke shrugged "You should just tell him about us."

Arietta reached over and smacked his arm again.

"Ow! Ari!"

"You're kidding, right?" Julie glared "This past year, everyone's been watching over me, being super nice, as if they're waiting for me to snap. If I tell my Dad I met a ghost band, I'll be back to talking to Dr. Turner three days a week."

Luke clicked his tongue "You probably shouldn't tell him." He agreed and walked back to look at the box "Julie...?"

"Oh my gosh!" Julie almost shouted "I thought I told you to leave that alone!"

"I know. You just shouldn't have said nothing 'cause now I can't stop thinking about it, so...what's in the box, Julie?" Luke put on his best pleading puppy dog eyes.

"It's just my dream box, okay?" Julie sighed.

Arietta looked up, a dream box was something her grief counselor had suggested for her after Alex, Luke, and Reggie died. It made sense, Julie's Mom had passed away too, and if she remembered right, her counselor had told her to fill it with happy things that reminded her of them. Maybe that's what Julie did.

Luke still looked confused, so Julie went on "Whenever I get a thought, I write it down and get it out of my mind."

"Like lyrics?" Luke asked hopefully.

"Luke, leave it." Ari whispered.

"They would be if I still wrote music like I used to with my Mom." Julie's face fell "Now it's just full of stuff that doesn't make me sad."

Alex stood up "But, I mean, you do play. We heard you this morning."

"In the garage?" Julie started to get mad.

Luke moved away from the box and smacked Alex's shoulder. Arietta joined in with a deep sigh and smacked her brother's other shoulder too.

"So you were there too?" Julie growled.

"Uh..." Luke and Reggie's high voices gave away the truth.

Luke dove across the bed trying to distract Julie "So, where is your kitchen, by the way?"

Julie leaned down so she was nose to nose with the boy "Okay, we need to set some boundaries. For starters, stay out of my room!"

"Mm-hmm. Crystal clear. Let's go." Luke slid off the bed.

"We're leaving." Alex agreed.

Arietta pulled her hand from Reggie's and waited. The boys turned back to look at her but she shooed them on their way.

"What do you want?" Julie asked.

"Sorry, I was just wondering if you got back in your music program?" Arietta asked.

"No. No, I didn't." Julie muttered.

"I'm sorry." Ari sat down on the bed next to the living girl "I'll try to keep Luke away from your dream box."

"How do you know what a dream box is?" Julie asked "I saw your face when I mentioned it."

"After my brother and his friends died, my parents made me go to a counselor. The dream box was one of the suggestions they gave me." Arietta shrugged "I gave up on it after...well, after a while. It was full of clippings and stuff about the band, but it just got to painful to look at."

"I'm sorry." Julie sighed "I forgot you lived for a year after they died."

"Yeah, I wish I could too." Arietta stood up "I'll leave you alone now."

She walked out the door and crashed into Luke, Reggie, and Alex, who were as close to the door as they could be without falling through it.

"Ari, I'm-" Alex started.

"No, it's in the past. I don't really want to talk about it." Arietta shrugged.

Alex looked like he wanted to say more, but he bit his tongue, remembering what had happened the last time they'd pushed Arietta too far "Okay, let's just go back to the studio." He said instead.

Ari looked at him gratefully. Reggie wrapped an arm around her shoulders and Luke led them back to the studio.

"Do you wanna try and get some more rest, Ari?" Luke asked.

"I don't know." Arietta shrugged.

"I think you should." Reggie said "Come on, I'll sit with you."

Ari slowly nodded and Reggie helped her up the stairs to the makeshift bed. Alex watched them go, then turned to Luke.

"Is there something going on with them that I don't know about?"

"Well..." Luke's voice got high "You know Reggie likes her, I guess he confessed his feelings."

Alex sighed "Okay?"

"And she feels the same way."

Alex closed his eyes and counted to ten, stopping himself from murdering Reggie, even if he was already dead "So they're dating now?"

"I don't know." Luke held up his hands in surrender "I think they're taking it slow."

"Good." Alex grumbled "If he hurts her I'm counting on you to help me kill him again."

"I already gave him the warning." Luke chuckled "He really cares about her, you know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know. Doesn't mean I have to like the idea of my best friend dating my sister."

Reggie again held Ari in his lap as she snuggled into his chest. He leaned against the wall holding her. Arietta seemed restless though, she kept shifting and readjusting.

"You okay?" Reggie asked "Would it be easier if you laid down?"

"No, I'm just thinking." Ari shook her head.

"About what?"

"I don't-" Arietta paused "Did I say anything last night? I didn't tell you anything that I remember, but I know I talk in my sleep sometimes when I have nightmares."

"No, you didn't say anything." Reggie shook his head "But when we were talking, you almost said a name. Then you stopped yourself."

"When?"

"It was when you were telling me what the guy had told you. About how he was the only one who would love you." Reggie said softly "Which you know isn't true at all."

Arietta swallowed "I almost said his name?"

"Just the first letter." Reggie cupped her cheek in his hand, turning her face so she was looking at him "I wasn't going to say anything, but then you asked."

Ari bit her lip "I can't tell you who it was. Not today, maybe not ever."

"I'll wait as long as you need me to." Reggie whispered "And if you never tell me, that's okay. I'll always love you."

They made eye contact again, her bright blue eyes met his warm brown ones. Reggie leaned forward and kissed her again. She responded by wrapping her arms around his neck and Reggie took this as a good sign.

"If you want to stop, just tell me." He said, pulling back.

"Not yet." Ari stroked his cheek "Don't stop yet."

Reggie kissed her again, deeper this time. Their lips moved in sync with each other and Reggie found himself reaching up so his hands tangled in her long blonde hair. Ari's fingers threaded their way through his hair and Reggie almost groaned at the feeling of her hands. He smiled into the kiss and felt Ari do the same.

"You know, I'm not going to break." Ari muttered.

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable." Reggie kissed her lightly "I love you."

"I love you too, Reg." Ari leaned her forehead against his "But you don't have to treat me like a china doll. I'm tougher than I look."

"I know you are." Reggie swept a lock of hair out of her eyes "You're the strongest person I know."

"Then please..."

Reggie heard the permission she gave in those words and kissed her again. He didn't stop until they were both breathless. Then he slowly kissed her cheeks, her eyelids, her forehead, and then slowly moved to her neck. He didn't touch her in any way that might make her uncomfortable, he just kissed her jawline up to her ear. Reggie decided to try something, he slowly sucked her earlobe into his mouth and flicked it with his tongue.

Ari let out a quiet moan. 

Reggie stopped at once "Is that okay?"

"Mm." Ari hummed contentedly.

Reggie slowly kissed his way down her jaw and back to her lips. Those lips were intoxicating, pink and full, sculpted into a perfect pout. He could kiss those lips all day and never get tired of it. Instead he kissed her, not roughly but firmly, conveying perfectly that he was there for her, that he would never leave her, and that, in his eyes, she was the most beautiful, perfect girl in the world. Slowly, after a few more minutes of heated kissing, they pulled apart. Ari rested her head on his chest.

"I think that's enough." She whispered.

"I'm never going to get tired of that." Reggie smiled down at her.

"Me neither, but I think it's enough for now."

"Get some rest, Ari. I love you so much." 

Ari slowly fell asleep, leaning on Reggie, who slowly brought his arms back up to circle her shoulders. He was content to go at whatever pace she needed. He knew there would be days when she didn't want any physical contact, and he knew those days were the ones she'd need his support on the most. He stroked her hair and she leaned unconsciously into his touch, he would do whatever to took to keep her safe.


	6. Together, I think that we can Make it

After several hours asleep, Reggie and Ari woke up and made their way back down from the lost. Alex was sitting with his arms crossed watching them

"Uh-oh." Reggie whispered "Big brother alert!"

"You'll be fine." Arietta smiled.

"Ahem!" Alex cleared his throat loudly "I guess this is happening, isn't it?"

Arietta grabbed Reggie's hand.

"Couldn't have made it any clearer." Alex laughed "Look, Reggie, you're like a brother to me. But Ari is my sister. So help me, if you hurt her, then Luke and I hurt you. Got it?"

Reggie nodded quickly "Got it."

"Alex." Ari shook her head "Calm down."

"I just had to get that out of the way." Alex grinned "I'm happy you guys have stopped dancing around each other."

"Me too." For the first time in a while Arietta's face muscles hurt from smiling so hard.

Reggie leaned down and placed a kiss on the top of her head. Alex laughed as she blushed bright red. They really did work well together, and after having silently crushed on each other all through the 90s, well, it was about time.

"Where's Luke?" Ari asked.

"I left him in the kitchen. He'd been trying to open the fridge door for half an hour." Alex chuckled "He was getting frustrated."

Luke bounced back into the studio "Julie's taking my advice!"

"That's the last words before the apocalypse." Alex snarked

"Hey!" Luke protested "I have great advice. She's gonna sing in front of her teacher and get back in her music program."

"Really?" Ari asked "That's great! We should go support her."

"I was thinking the same thing." Luke laughed.

***

The four ghosts poofed to Julie's school the next day. They landed in the gym, where a group of girls ini pastel wigs and colorful outfits were performing a crazy dance routine. Julie and her friend Flynn were next to them.

"What are you guys doing here?" Julie hissed.

"We wanna see you stick it to the man!" Luke cheered "Isn't that right, boys and girl?"

Reggie was staring transfixed at the girls "Man, I miss high school." 

Ari grinned and rolled her eyes.

Alex was also watching the girls, but he was copying their dance moves. Luke thumped the drummer's chest to get him to stop.

When the song ended the girl in pink stepped forward "Thank you!" She called.

"We love you, Carrie!" A girl screamed.

"Oh, I love you too!" Carrie waved "Make sure to check out my new YouTube video. Oh, go Bobcats."

The crowd cheered and the girls walked off stage.

"Thank you, Dirty Candi." A woman in a pantsuit, who must have been the principal, stepped up with another woman by her side.

"Now's your chance. Go talk to her." Flynn urged "See you in music class."

"That was sweet." The principal smiled but was met with silence "Okay then. Before we let you go, we have a few more announcements..."

"What are you waiting for?" Reggie pointed to the stage "This is your time."

"Yeah. I mean, you look really nervous. Like yack in a bowl nervous." Alex commented.

"Alex!" Ari reprimanded "Don't listen to him, you're going to be amazing."

"I just don't think I had enough time to work on the song." Julie sighed.

Luke laughed "I wouldn't have given you the song if I didn't think you were gonna rock it. Now, there's a piano on that stage with your name on it."

Julie looked nervous but nodded and dashed backstage. She appeared on the stage a moment later and sat down at the piano. At first she only played a few notes then stopped, looking to the boys and Ari for reassurance.

"You got this!" Luke whisper-yelled.

Julie nodded and kept playing.

"Sometimes I think I'm falling down  
I wanna cry  
I'm callin' out  
For one more try  
To feel alive  
And when I feel lost and alone  
I know that I can make it home  
Fight through the dark  
And find the spark  
Life is a risk, but I will take it  
Close my eyes and jump  
Together I think that we can make it  
Come on, let's run"

Suddenly the boys and Ari found themselves on stage with their instruments, the crowd gasping and staring right at them. Ari glanced around, making eye contact with Luke and Alex who both shrugged and started to play. Reggie noticed how anxious Ari looked and smiled at her, mouthing "You can do this." Ari looked down at her guitar, it was the one she had left behind in the loft of the studio when the boys had died. Slowly, she took a deep breath and started to play. At first Julie looked surprised but kept singing, quickly hiding her shock.

"And rise through the night  
You and I  
We will fight to shine together  
Bright forever  
And rise through the night  
You and I  
We will fight to shine together  
Bright forever"

A girl with a phone waved frantically at Reggie, trying to get his attention, but he only had eyes for Arietta. She seemed to have come alive again, playing the music. It wasn't like their first jam session on their first day back when she was playing out of a sense of duty. This time her eyes sparkled and she threw her head back with a laugh. Reggie hadn't heard her laugh so sincerely in so long.

"Uh, is this really happening?" Julie's voice pulled Reggie out of his thoughts.

"Just go with it." Luke told her.

Luke started to sing next.

"In times that I doubted myself  
I felt like I needed some help  
Stuck in my head  
With nothing left  
I feel something around me now  
So unclear, lifting me out  
I found the ground  
I'm marching on"

Reggie grabbed Ari's hand and pulled her over to Luke's microphone. They all leaned in and started to sing, Ari's light soprano voice balancing out the boys' lower tones.

"Life is a risk, but we will take it  
Close my eyes and jump  
Together I think that we can make it  
Come on, let's run"

Julie joined in again.

"And rise through the night  
You and I  
We will fight to shine together  
Bright forever  
And rise through the night  
You and I  
We will fight to shine together  
Bright forever"

Luke came back in with his part, Julie joined him holding her microphone to his lips.

"In time that I doubted myself  
I felt like I needed some help  
Stuck in my head  
With nothing left"

Julie beckoned Ari over and the girl joined in on the next verse.

"And when I feel lost and alone  
I know that I can make it home  
Fight through the dark  
And find the spark"

Julie turned and walked right through Luke making the student body cheer even louder. Everyone, including Alex, joined in for the last bit.

"And rise through the night  
You and I  
We will fight to shine together"

Julie added her own "Shine together"

"Bright forever"

"Bright forever"

Everyone came together.

"And rise though the night  
You and I  
We will fight to shine together  
Bright forever"

The song ended and Julie raised her microphone in the air. The boys, Ari, and Julie all bowed, but suddenly the crowd gasped. The boys and Ari were no longer on stage.

"Where are we?" Ari asked, looking around.

"I think we're outside the gym." Reggie wrapped his arm around Arietta's shoulder "You did amazing. I know it's been a while since you played but you sounded great."

"Thanks, so did you." Ari looked back at the door to the gym "I really hope we didn't get Julie in trouble."

"I'm sure she's fine." Luke laughed "But those kids saw us! Can you believe it?"

"Honestly? No."

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you like it! And if you think of any tags or warnings I should add, please let me know right away! I want to make sure no one who reads this fic gets too upset by it.


End file.
